Morbus: Latin for “disease”. Chron: Greek for “time”. Time to get ill! After hearing a promising but inconsequential demo last year, I was curious as to what a Morbus Chron album would bring. I am not disappointed. The metal of death is very alive.

Yes, Sleepers owes much to Autopsy. But besides the expressive, crazed vocals, the band mines another side of Autopsy that few have explored: the twisting, queasy harmonies. This is not the typical Neanderthal NWOOSDM stomp. The guitarists spend much time on their middle strings, weaving tapestries of tritones. All the patches and underground cred in the world can’t hide the fact that this record is musical.

It’s a grower, not a shower. Everything seems to be in the middle at first. The vocals are more howls than growls. The guitars don’t take the easy route of open-string low-end riffing. Instead, they flow like diseased blood carrying plaque and nasty bits. (Raul Gonzalez‘ album artwork is perfect.) These accumulate slowly but surely. Zoom out after some time, and the picture is horrifying. Heart attack!

Adding to the creepy-crawly atmosphere are an onslaught of sly couplets. You don’t see the rhymes coming, but they’re killer, literally.

For example:

Out for a walk
Slow as a rock

Innocuous, right? Not when followed by:

Car moving near
Hit in the front, damages are severe

What line would you write after this?

Human brought in, dripping with pus

Why, this, of course!

Doctors approach, much to discuss

A final howler for you. The setup:

Dead but walking, with a glued on head

The punchline:

Cannibal instinct, eat human with bread

Yum! Sweden has the best stewardesses and the best death metal. Why not put them together? Morbus Chron, get to it! Great rhymes with “barf bag” await.